Dana White Goes Nuclear On De La Hoya And Hearn After Zuffa Boxing 3

UPPERCUT KNOCKOUT

MY GOODNESS 😳

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Dana White doesn’t dip his toe in. He cannonballs.

After Zuffa Boxing’s third event on Sunday, White fronted up feeling very comfortable about where his new boxing venture sits. The card delivered a handful of highlight finishes, the kind of stuff that ends up looping on social media before the broadcast even signs off. And instead of playing it safe, White decided to start swinging.

He basically said the competition isn’t competition.

“This is like beating up babies,” White said. “I feel like I came in and I’m beating up babies. I expected more. I expected some pushback. I expected some, I don’t know, them to be more game. They’re all way out of their league.”

Not subtle.

White then zeroed in on Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who had criticised Zuffa’s championship belt earlier in the week. White didn’t hold back.

“I don’t wanna sit here and smash Eddie Hearn or anything, but Eddie Hearn works for his dad,” White said. “You know what I mean? He works for dad. I don’t think he’s come in and ever had any type of vision, whereas we do. We’re gonna change the entire sport.”

He kept going, saying boxing has been around for more than a century, with plenty of money and powerful figures involved, including the Hearns. But in his view, they simply do not know how to compete at the level he’s planning to operate.

“It’s not like they can’t compete. They can’t compete cause they don’t know how to compete. There’s no vision there,” White said.

Oscar De La Hoya copped it as well.

White referenced ongoing issues around De La Hoya’s promotional company, claiming the former champion is in financial trouble and embroiled in disputes with his own fighters. He mocked De La Hoya’s social media segments and suggested the criticism coming from traditional boxing figures is all noise while Zuffa quietly builds momentum.

“They don’t stop talking – the WBC and Eddie Hearn and all this sh- that Oscar De La Hoya talks,” White said. “We all know [De La Hoya is] f–king mentally ill. The guy’s talking all this shit and his place is in foreclosure, he’s suing his fighter to try to stay with him. Has he done a Clapback Thursday recently? I would f–king love to see an episode of Clapback Thursday this Thursday from Oscar De La Hoya. Everybody feels it. It’s already happening. It’s going to be a fun year.”

Zuffa Boxing is still in its early stages, but White is clearly positioning it as a disruptor in a sport he believes has been stagnant and poorly managed. Whether the established promoters fire back remains to be seen, but White’s message is obvious. He thinks he’s already ahead.

And if the next few events land the way he believes they will, he’s not planning on slowing down.